An odd incident in the Walmart vs. workers fight

The painting "The Island" by Walton Ford, which shows a violent struggle between carnivores and lambs, is in the art museum supported by Alice Walton. (Click to enlarge)

In an ongoing dispute, workers at Walmart stores decided to hold a strike against the company to protest their low wages and the company’s anti-union activities.

To show her support for the strikers, Alice Walton, the daughter of Walmart founder Sam Walton and the second richest woman in America, sent out asurprising press release via her art museum, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art:

"Since Black Friday is the unofficial start of the Christmas season, and this is the season of giving, I and the staff of Crystal Bridges have decided to stand with the workers of Walmart, the source of my family’s fortune, in their Black Friday strikes, walkouts, and pickets. I recognize this may come as a surprise to both Walmart workers and the American public. I have always assumed these hard-working men and women were being treated well, paid well, and being compensated with proper health benefits and vacation time. On this holiday, I give thanks for the fortune I inherited and for all the workers who earned it for me. They deserve to share its benefits. I was shocked to the point of disbelief when I first learned of the working conditions these decent Americans endure at the company that bears our family’s name. As a Walton, I cannot stomach the thought of our employees working for poverty wages, without sufficient healthcare, on a permanent part-time basis, or under threat of harassment, retaliation, or termination for organizing in their workplace. The workers of Walmart deserve better."

However, the press release was soon followed by this:

The crystalbridgesfoundation.org website is in no form or manner affiliated with or represents Alice Walton and/or the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Please visit the official website of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art site at www.crystalbridges.org.

It was, of course, a prank that called attention to the Walmart worker’s demands.